Strategy and business performance
Strategy, performance measurement, long-term value, and sustainability and climate disclosure.
The whole subject in 42 pages, built around the frameworks and ratios that carry the marks. Everything you need, nothing you don't.
One pack, $95 AUD, instant PDF download.
Independent study notes for accounting certification candidates. Not affiliated with any professional body.
What this subject is really about
This subject links strategy to the way a business measures and reports its performance. You set a strategy, judge it against the outside world and the numbers, and build the measures that tell you whether it is working.
It rewards applying the right framework to the facts, not naming frameworks for their own sake. It also reaches into long-term value and the newer sustainability and climate disclosures, so the frameworks and the ratios matter together.
The four chapters, and what each covers
The subject moves from setting strategy to measuring it, then to value and reporting. Here is the whole scope before you enrol.
Developing strategy and performance measures
Setting strategy and the measures that track it.
- The planning cycle
- External analysis
- Internal analysis
- Strategic choice
- The balanced scorecard
Integrating strategy, performance and data
Turning strategy into plans and reading performance from the numbers.
- Business planning
- Financial performance
- Value drivers
- Data analytics
Creating long-term value
Value, investment and the cost of capital.
- Time value of money
- Cost of capital
- Appraising investments
- Business valuation
Corporate reporting
Sustainability and climate disclosure in context.
- Sustainability reporting
- The standards
- Climate disclosure
The frameworks you'll use
Almost every question asks you to pick a framework and apply it to the facts. These are the ones the subject leans on.
The planning cycle, PESTEL, Porter's five forces, VRIO, the value chain and the generic strategies.
The Ansoff matrix for growth options and the BCG matrix for a portfolio.
The balanced scorecard and the core financial ratios.
The time value of money, the cost of capital and appraising long-term investments.
The main approaches to valuing a business.
The context and standards for sustainability and climate disclosure.
These references reflect the subject as at the start of 2026. Standards and law change, so confirm the current set against your subject materials before you rely on it.
How it's assessed
A written submission, a final invigilated exam, and a compulsory virtual workshop along the way.
Submission
An analysis of a strategy and performance scenario, marked on how well you connect the frameworks to the facts.
Final, invigilated
A timed online paper at the end of the subject.
Compulsory
A virtual workshop sits inside the subject, and the prep is where the marks and feedback are.
The traps worth knowing before the exam
These are the mistakes markers see most often. Frameworks lose their marks when they are named but not applied.
The five forces describe an industry, not one company. Analysing the firm's own strengths here is a common error. Use the forces to judge how attractive the industry is, then switch to internal analysis for the firm.
Do not read a high return on equity as good news on its own. Check whether it rests on margin and efficiency or simply on gearing.
When you weight the cost of capital, weight by market value, not book value, and do not forget the tax shield on debt.
Name the framework, then use it. A PESTEL or a five forces with no link to the scenario's facts earns very little.
Judge performance on more than this year's profit. The balanced scorecard exists because financial measures alone miss the drivers of value.
Tie every recommendation back to the strategy. Advice that does not connect to the objectives is hard to award marks for.
The kind of question you'll face
A short scenario from the practice exam, so you can see what applying the frameworks looks like.
Meridian Outdoor Ltd is an established Australian maker of premium camping gear with a strong brand and a patented tent design. Several low-cost online brands have entered with similar-looking products at much lower prices, and shoppers increasingly compare prices online before buying. Analyse the position and advise.
Porter's five forces to judge the industry, then internal analysis and the generic strategies to place Meridian. The trap is analysing Meridian's own strengths inside the five forces instead of judging the industry first.
The full worked solution applies each framework to the facts and builds to a recommendation, with the marks laid out so you can see what a strong answer looks like.
How to study it around a full-time job
The subject runs over roughly nine weeks and includes a workshop. Here is a plan that fits it around work.
Frameworks first
Chapter 1. Learn the frameworks by applying each to a real company, not by memorising the diagrams.
Performance and data
Chapter 2. Get comfortable reading performance from ratios and linking it back to strategy.
Value and reporting
Chapters 3 and 4. Investment appraisal, valuation and the sustainability disclosures.
Do the prep
The compulsory workshop rewards preparation. Turning up cold costs marks you cannot recover.
Full papers, not new content
Sit the practice exam under time and run the cheat sheet of frameworks and ratios.
See what's in the pack
A real example of each part of the pack, not stock previews. This is the product doing the talking.
Plain English, exam ready
The whole subject rewritten to be read fast. Here is how performance is measured, as it appears in the notes.
The balanced scorecard
The balanced scorecard reads performance through four lenses: financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth. It exists because financial measures alone miss the drivers that decide next year's numbers.
A few from the 95-card deck
Front and back, so you can see how tight the recall answers are.
Frameworks and ratios on one page
- ROCE = operating profit / capital employed
- Operating margin = operating profit / revenue
- Gearing = net debt / (net debt + equity)
- Interest cover = operating profit / interest
Sat under time, marked like the real thing
A full paper that mirrors the exam, with worked answers showing where each mark is won.
Common questions
Is it a numbers subject or a writing subject?
Both. You apply strategy frameworks in writing, and you read and improve performance from the ratios. The best answers connect the two.
Is it all exams?
No. A written submission, a final invigilated exam, and a compulsory virtual workshop you need to prepare for.
Do I need to memorise every framework?
You need to apply them, not recite them. The cheat sheet keeps them to one page so you can reach for the right one fast.
Are these notes affiliated with the program?
No. Summo Notes is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any professional body.
What is in the pack?
One full subject pack: 42-page condensed notes across the four chapters, 95 flashcards, 4-page cheat sheet of frameworks and ratios, full practice exam and 21 pages of worked solutions.
How do I get it, and what format is it in?
Everything is a PDF you download straight after checkout, so you can start the same day. It reads well on a laptop, tablet or printed out, and the cheat sheet is made for fast lookup.
What does it cost?
$95 AUD, as a single one-off payment for the whole subject. There is no subscription and no per-chapter pricing.
Everything in one pack
One pack per subject. Notes, flashcards, cheat sheet and the exam, together.
- +42-page condensed notes across the four chapters
- +95 flashcards
- +4-page cheat sheet of frameworks and ratios
- +Full practice exam
- +21 pages of worked solutions
Summo Notes is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any professional body.